Talk to anyone in your neighborhood, from the owner of the corner tiendita to your favorite taquero, and you are sure to run into someone who comes from Puebla, Mexico. Los Angeles is known for having one of the largest populations of Poblanos outside of Mexico. So it is no surprise that L.A. is also home to an incredible cemita scene.
Named after the type of bread they are made from—a bulbous, egg-enriched sesame bun—the cemita is like the cousin of a torta, except slightly more minimalistic and regional in nature.
Each cemita spot is different, but will usually offer a choice of protein, including favorites like breaded and fried chicken or beef cutlets (milanesa), braised meat in chile (barbacoa), good 'ol ham, a scoop of headcheese, and other filling options. It is always topped with fanned avocado, onion, tomato, chipotle paste, quesillo or queso Oaxaca, queso panela or queso fresco, jalapeños in escabeche, and the ingredient that many say makes a cemita a cemita: pápalo, a leafy green that is highly fragrant, with a potent and polarizing flavor that can best be described as a cross between tarragon, cilantro, fennel, and fresh stevia leaf.